I came across this quote and it whispered to me. I am not on the mountaintop or in the wilderness. I am currently trying to find a rhythm that works for me in the plain days. I am mostly back to my routine with the kids’ school, sports and work, except for more time working off campus from home. Nothing tragic is going on; nothing great either. I still crave too much chocolate and live by too-long, to-do lists. Except lately I relish the moments when I have not to do. I’m tired. A little blah.
I know that much of life is spent in the plains. Days when you feel accomplished if you get through your obligations and vaguely guilty if you don’t. But then again, how much difference does it make? Days that seem long, and repetitive and mundane. Where there is much to do and little to delight in.
Then something happens to grab your attention. A realization. An awareness. A noticing. It doesn’t have to be big or earthshaking, just a little nudge, even a whisper. You are alive today. It could be a close call. A news item brought to your attention. Something you see on your way to work. A story you read. Something you hear from a friend. A grateful sigh. You are alive today and blessed, while so many others are not so fortunate…
This week marks the one-year anniversary of my son’s 16-year-old friend drowning in a local river. A bandage ripped off the skin that hasn’t yet healed. A reminder of who’s not here. Someone who will forever be 16, and never more than that. A reminder of a season when I was on my own, trying to run life with life on hold, my husband gone, and my home falling apart. For us though, time went on.
Sometimes I take notice of this whisper, this reminder that life is not guaranteed. That today is not even guaranteed. The precariousness of it all steals my breath (which gratefully returns). So many are in the valley, fighting for another another year, another month, another day, or another minute. So many long for the steady terrain of the plains.
It is so easy to find your rhythm in the repetitive dance of the plain days. To even grow tired of the dance. “The days are long and the years are short,” writes Gretchen Rubin. Until they aren’t.
I must fight to appreciate this maneuvering through the plain. To not take for granted the repetition. The doldrums I once drank to escape. I fought so hard to take my life back from a place of oblivion. I’m not going to let it pass me by unnoticed, unaware. You are alive today, and so many others aren’t.
Be grateful, even for the plain days.
Very touching, and very true.
Thank you friend.
wonderful healing words Collette…need them so often lately..thank you!
Thank you, Lovie. It’s so easy to see what’s wrong these days…sometimes harder to see what’s right. Xx
This was a very reflective post to read Collette! Thank you! I think it really took me to the ripe old age of 47 to really appreciate and be thankful for my life. ❤️
Thank you friend. Yes, I find that even when we get to the point of appreciation and gratitude, we still need to remind ourselves, often. Hope you are well! Xx
This is lovely Collette – finding the joy in the plain days is the real gift of sobriety I think – not chasing, searching and looking but just being – so sad about your sons friend 💞💞
Yes, I can feel the plain days here, too. Some days I accept the repetition of these days, other days I crave more excitement.
Much Love,
Wendy
Such a provocative post!
I have felt an array of emotions for the plain days: relief, boredom, lazy, withdrawn, unsocial, unmotivated.
Then I’d get sucked into dissecting these plain days which drug me further down the rabbit hole of whatever emotion had surfaced, usually accelerating the emotions and self-judgment.
It has helped me to do what you said and enjoy the plain days as a balance to the highs and lows and a place to be refreshed. I’ve learned to acknowledge whatever I’m feeling and that I’m right where I’m supposed to be for that particular day❣️🤗 Kinda like a time-out from my routine.
Then I consider what I could do or want to do differently tomorrow and try to make it happen❤️
But today was a plain day and it was exactly what I needed🥰
This is wonderful and just what I needed to hear today ❤️
The plain days are so important and yet I often find myself frustrated with them. There is this is this overwhelming feeling that it should be more, better, exciting. In accepting life as steady and gentle and enjoying the peace in that, the anxiety and frustration recedes. But it’s nit something I find easy to do and I need to practice it for sure. Thanks for the post Collette. It’s lovely ♥️
Definitely not easy, and definitely a process, Claire. I can’t say I’m very good at it either, at least not all the time. Hope you are well, friend. Xx